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Traveling by Jeep, boat and foot, Tribune-Review investigative reporter Carl Prine and photojournalist Justin Merriman covered nearly 2,000 miles over two months along the border with Mexico to report on coyotes — the human traffickers who bring illegal immigrants into the United States. Most are Americans working for money and/or drugs. This series reports how their operations have a major impact on life for residents and the environment along the border — and beyond.

If it had anything to do with John Wayne, Kenneth McAlpine probably owned it.

“He collected everything from guns to books and shot glasses. He was a police officer and attached himself to John Wayne,” said Mr. McAlpine's daughter, Marcia McAlpine of Beaver.

Kenneth I. McAlpine of Callery died Friday, June 21, 2013, in UPMC Presbyterian in Oakland. He was 66.

A onetime police chief and a dispatcher for a trash hauling company, Mr. McAlpine lived his entire life in Butler County.

In the 1980s, he was police chief in Adams Township. At that time, he was one of five part-time officers.

“Things have changed. We now have seven full-time and seven part-time officers,” said William Westerman, Adams' police chief.

Mr. McAlpine hired Westerman in 1982. “He was a great guy. He hired me, and I'm still here 30 years later,” Westerman said.

One of four children, Mr. McAlpine was brought up to have a strong work ethic, his daughter said. Mr. McAlpine was a dispatcher for Vogel Disposal in Mars, a garbage hauler. “He would do that in the daytime, come home and sleep for an hour and work as a police officer at night,” Marcia McAlpine said.

For 13 years, Mr. McAlpine managed Mars Agway, a lawn, garden and pet supply store. He owned McAlpine Family Restaurant in Mars, which he operated for a year, belonged to the Mars Volunteer Fire Department and was a former chief of the Callery Volunteer Fire Department.

An outgoing man, Mr. McAlpine gave almost everyone he knew a nickname.

“He liked being around people. He liked to joke. He was a very caring, very selfless man. My dad set the example for his children to be the people we now are,” Marcia McAlpine said.

In addition to his daughter, Marcia, Mr. McAlpine is survived by his wife, Connie “Hazel” McAlpine; a son, Kenneth I. McAlpine Jr. of Valencia; a sister, Nancy M. Painter of Zelienople; two brothers, Martin Edward McAlpine of Houston, Texas, and James R. McAlpine of Butler; and two grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a brother, John.

Friends will be received from 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in McDonald-Aeberli Funeral Home, 238 Crowe Ave. in Mars. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the funeral home. Burial will be in Mars Cemetery.

Rick Wills is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7944 or at rwills@tribweb.com.

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